Month: August 2015

The real bummer of it all is that, most of the time, dreams don’t come true.

Not to dwell on the negative aspects of that idea, but it seems evident just from a realistic perspective. Imagine how many astronauts the world would be full of, how many supermodels and rock stars would walk down the streets of every US city, as they pass coffee shops filled with movie producers and actors reading scripts. DJs text for addresses so they can get to their next big gig, and bloggers complain about all of this in an endless series of tweets that then become tomorrow’s BuzzFeed listical. If every dream any of us had ever had came true, we’d all be swimming in a world filled empty grocery shelves, kitchens full of filthy dishes, and closed drive-throughs as far as the eye can see.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be all bad.

Dreams help sustain us, but they are not contracts with the universe, nor are they necessarily realistic. There’s no way I was going to be the first man on Mars anyway. Chances are very few of those friends are going to put out a record that break on a national level. I regularly dream of a world where people slow the fuck down and pay attention in traffic, but I realize that will never happen so long as most people dream of being the first to get to where they are going, even if, as we all so often say, it isn’t a race.

For over 20 years now, I’ve been pursuing some of my dreams part time. A ‘zine here, a song there, and a broadcast yet somewhere else. I’ve always wanted to reproduce the entertainment world around us in a form that spoke to my sensibilities. When I first understood that Ray Bradbury was a person, and that he sat at a desk and shaped those words into the stories I got excited about, I wanted to do the same thing. When I first tuned into KRVM in Eugene, it was clear that I should be on the radio, too. As music became the center of my life, I imagined a world where I had my own simulacrum of media, with journalism and books and music and TV filtered through my acid-damaged head. I never thought I could do it better than those currently in the business, but I always believed that I could make something interesting, that the conversation was not only something I could participate in, but that other’s might enjoy.

Where the truth lies in anyone’s guess, but from this perspective in 2015, I feel like I’ve accomplished a fair amount for someone who that 20 years working full time, earning a College Degree, drinking way more than I should, and occasionally, dating. Some of it was better than others, absolutely. But I like to imagine that if you wend your way through it, there is a thread that connects everything. You can see the development over time, and there are some highlights every so often. As a part-time artist, it’s been a fun hobby of which I’ve never gotten sick, nor have I thought I ever wanted to give up.

Today, we’re going to try something new, and see how far we can really take these dreams with the tools at my command.

My promises will be simple. I promise to be entertaining. I promise to be honest. I promise to put into this everything that is important to me, and everything that I love, and create something that holds meaning and makes me proud. And, I promise that occasionally, I will stumble, and will have to get up the next day, dust myself off, and try it all again.

There will be new videos. There will be album reviews. There will be new short stories, and some occasional events that you can attend, too.

Today is the beginning of this new phase in my career, and it is as scary as it is exhilarating, and beautiful. It will also be fun, every single step of the way.

There were days when I would sit at work, toiling in whatever wage slavery I had managed to find, and I would imagine the future, a future where all the music and stories in my head could finally get out, and had life breathed into them.

Beginning with his terrestrial radio debut in 1998, Writer & Broadcaster Austin Rich has been delivering audio essays for 17 years (and counting). Half collage, half mix-tape, and half radio documentary, Austin has been mixing and editing audio tid-bits into lush compositions that both rock and tell a story. Using a stylized form of composition, this weekly program promises to explore new territory, and feature classic programs to help bring radio back into the world of podcasting.